As well known, a refrigerator refrigerates or freezes food items so that the food items can be freshly kept. The refrigerator includes a main body in which a cooling chamber is formed and a refrigerating cycle apparatus for providing chilled air to the cooling chamber. The refrigerating cycle apparatus is formed of a vapor compressing refrigerating cycle apparatus including a compressor for compressing refrigerant, a condenser for emitting heat from the refrigerant to be condensed, an expansion device for reducing the pressure of the refrigerant so that the refrigerant expands, and an evaporator for the refrigerant absorbing peripheral latent heat so that the refrigerant evaporates.
On the other hand, a plurality of shelves are provided in the cooling chamber to vertically partition off the internal space so that food items can be accommodated and supported.
In the conventional refrigerator, since the shelves are provided to correspond to a width of the cooling chamber in right and left directions so that the both ends thereof are supported, when the food items or container having a larger height than the vertical distance between the shelves is to be accommodated, the upper shelf is to be separated to increase the vertical distance between the shelves or the food items or container is to be laid down.
In addition, since most of food items excluding some large food items are small, the upper space of the small food items cannot be utilized. Therefore, the amount of food items to be accommodated in the refrigerator is reduced.
In addition, the separated shelf cannot be easily kept and can be damaged and/or lost while the separated shelf is kept.